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Dopamine plays many important roles in our body. While our body can obviously help us sustain normal dopamine levels, our modern life combined with certain activities can wreck the dopaminergic system. And this can cause lots of unwanted side effects.
Luckily, there are many ways to deal with that - from controlling your stress, eating healthy food, and regularly exercising to taking the right dopamine supplements.
In this post, we will cover the best strategies to balance dopamine levels with the most effective and potent supplements.
Dopamine is a chemical in your brain that is important for regulating memory, cognition, mood, attention, motivation, and learning.
This neurotransmitter is produced in different areas of our brain. [1] Since it is a precursor to norepinephrine and epinephrine, we should definitely ensure to have a stable production of dopamine in our brain.
Many people boost dopamine levels by taking part in activities such as sex, taking drugs, or doing something new.
Too high or too low levels of dopamine can cause severe issues, which can be mitigated or avoided by taking the right supplements.
But before we share those supplements without, let's learn more about dopamine.
It is very important to understand how dopamine works before you start searching for solutions to decrease or increase its production.
Dopamine is produced in two main areas of the brain: in the substantia nigra and in the ventral tegmental area (VTA).
Dopamine-producing cells in this area are responsible for the control of our motor function and learning motor skills. [2]
When dopamine-producing neurons start dying, this could affect your movement, learning abilities, and even speech.
Dopamine-producing neurons in this part of the brain are responsible for memory, emotions, thinking, and learning. [3] But VTA has another important role.
Whenever a pleasurable activity happens, VTA dopamine neurons are activated. This brain signal is felt like a "pleasure" which leads to more similar behaviors.
Because of that, high-levels of dopamine can feel extremely good. But it can also lead to abuse of drugs, which can have severe consequences.
As we learned so far, dopamine plays an important role in boosting our cognitive performance. Low dopamine levels or too much dopamine can negatively impact brain function.
Let's see how dopamine influences different areas of cognitive performance.
Studies show that people with higher levels of dopamine are more likely to focus on the task benefits, hence they often choose more difficult mental tasks. [4]
It is also important to understand that high dopamine levels make you feel good. Since we want to feel that way all the time, it is easier for us to concentrate on the things that help us feel that way. [5]
Increasing dopamine can also affect salience, which is even more important than attention.
As we know, normal dopamine production is extremely important if you want to be focused.
Another important area of cognitive performance is learning.
Studies have shown that dopamine plays an important role in our ability to learn new things, especially if our brain recognizes them as vital for our survival.
It is of evolutionary importance to be able to learn where to find food, water, and shelter in order to survive. The reward system also works in a way that once you learn a certain pattern that benefits you, it sends positive signals so that you will repeat the process again in the future.
That's why people with dopamine deficiency may struggle with learning.
Motivation seems like a prerequisite to learning and attention - and it is, in a way. We already know that brain dopamine has been linked to motivational functions. [6]
Dopamine is crucial for the "production" of stimulus-reward response.
And this response is needed for the motivation in a previous-reward situation. If dopamine function is blocked, however, the motivation will weaken.
Motivation is the process that activates behavior. [7]
So, dopamine deficiency can cause a myriad of issues including low motivation levels, which can result in poor cognitive function.
Last but not least, let's talk about the impact of dopamine on our mood. If we said before that motivation is the prerequisite for learning, then we could say that a good mood is a prerequisite for motivation.
It is logical, right? How could you be motivated if you are in a state of depression, anxiety, or simply not in a good mood?
Studies have shown that mood has a pervasive effect on cognition. [8] It is rather important to boost your mood in order to improve your cognitive function. Luckily, we also know that dopamine is the brain chemical that can help you out.
Adequate dopamine production is needed to stabilize the nervous system, ensure normal brain health, decrease stress and anxiety, and can have a long-term impact on your mood.
So far we talked about the importance of normal dopamine levels and its effects on our cognitive function. Now let's look at what happens if we have low dopamine levels.
If you suffer from the mentioned symptoms, it is possible that your dopamine levels are low. [9]
In such a case, you need to do everything you can to increase dopamine levels.
Let us share with you a few strategies that can help you increase dopamine naturally.
A regular exercise can stabilize brain chemicals, increase dopamine levels, and provide a myriad of other positive effects on your brain. [10]
An exercise can also stimulate the production of new brain cells, which may positively impact your cognitive performance.
So, one of the easiest tricks to stabilize your dopamine levels is to include exercise in your daily regime. We recommend exercising early in the morning, during the day, or in the afternoon. Just don't exercise less than 2 hours before sleep, because you may have issues falling asleep.
We could write a whole book about the power of meditation. In regards to meditation impact on dopamine, studies have shown that regulated meditation increases dopamine which leads to improved brain performance. [11]
Do you want to learn how to meditate? Check out this amazing meditation app that we use and recommend.
A short 10-minute meditation every single morning should do the trick.
If you are a highly active person, then you are well aware of the importance of great sleep. Bad sleep or lack of sleep may affect your attention, anxiety, and stress.
Lack of sleep has been shown to reduce dopamine and other neurotransmitters, which is why your cognitive function suffers. [12]
Not just that, dopamine may also boost your wakefulness. [13]
If your brain function is important to you, then you should try to sleep at least 7-8 hours per night. Try to sleep in complete darkness, avoid electronic devices at least 30 minutes before sleep, and don't eat or drink at least an hour before sleep.
Your diet can impact dopamine levels in many different ways.
First of all, a diet high-enough in protein is crucial for normal dopamine production. [14] If you eat lots of beans, peas, soy, and other legumes, meat, and eggs, then your levels of 2 amino acids - l-tyrosine and phenylalanine will increase.
Both amino acids may increase dopamine levels. [15]
Another important factor in dopamine levels is the amount of saturated fat that you eat. High levels are found in dairy, animal fat, palm oil, and even coconut oil and they can disrupt dopamine signaling. [16]
So, eating less saturated fat is not just great for your heart, but also your brain.
Listening to calming music can reduce stress, depression, and anxiety. It may also boost dopamine production, which can improve mood.
Check out our YouTube channel where you find very relaxing music for stress reduction and deep focus.
All the previously mentioned methods can increase dopamine levels naturally. But there is one more natural way we should mention - taking the right dopamine supplements.
Several vitamins, minerals, adaptogen herbs, and dopamine nootropics can naturally increase dopamine levels.
L-theanine is an amino acid that may increase different neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin, and GABA levels. [17]
This is a natural anti-depressant that can improve learning, memory, and general well-being. It may also reduce brain chemicals that are linked to stress.
As such, it is an almost perfect compound for cognitive performance. You can combine 200 mg of l-theanine with 100 mg of caffeine for even stronger effects on focus and mental performance.
L-theanine, usually found in green tea, can also be supplemented. Supplementing this amino acid ensures that you consume a high-quality, potent, and safe extract.
Our advanced brain supplement STAQ Performer contains a high-quality l-theanine extract.
Rhodiola Rosea is an adaptogen herb that has been used in traditional medicine for centuries. It is popular because it can decrease stress and boost our energy levels. [18]
Preliminary studies show that this adaptogen is also neuroprotective.
We found that Rhodiola Rosea can increase the permeability of the blood-brain barrier, which improves dopamine transportation.
Rhodiola is a must-use nootropic if you care about your well-being or if you suffer from attention deficit.
STAQ Performer contains 100 mg of a highly-potent Rhodiola extract.
Citicoline is a compound that may increase dopamine in our brains. [19] Research shows that this potent nootropic may increase attention, improve memory, and slow down cognitive decline.
Importantly, we found preliminary evidence which shows that supplementing citicoline can reduce drug and food cravings. This means citicoline has a direct impact on the dopamine-reward system.
We highly recommend supplementing citicoline if you want to optimize your mental function and improve mood.
That is why we decided to add a high-quality citicoline extract to our advanced nootropic supplement.
To increase dopamine with supplements, you need to take high-quality, potent, and safe nootropics that can affect natural dopamine levels.
Dopamine supplements have become very popular in the past years due to new research that shows the efficacy of such supplements in regulating dopamine levels.
But instead of buying individual nootropic compounds from various sources, our amazing team developed STAQ Performance - a top-rated nootropic supplement that already contains all crucial compounds for optimal dopamine production.
STAQ Performer contains the best nootropics for dopamine to help maintain mental performance and natural dopamine levels in a safe way without any side effects.
By taking 3 capsules per day, you will get a scientifically- proven dosage of all crucial compounds that can affect dopamine levels.
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Head Of Nutrition At STAQ Performance
Maja Andoljsek, BSc in Sports Science and Nutrition, has been researching nutrition, supplements, and coaching people for years. As a certified coach and nutritionist, she has helped hundreds of people improve their cognitive performance, physical performance, and overall health.